CONTENTS

VISUAL IDENTITY

BRAND IDENTITY

INTERPRETATION

VISUAL IDENTITY / LOGO

The North Face logo is based on the Half-Dome in Yosemite National Park, California. The logo of The North Face consists of a slanted quarter-circle with two lines inside and the logotype on the left side of the symbol. The font used in the logotype is very similar to a font called Helvetica Bold. The company was named for the coldest, most unforgiving side of a mountain. But The North Face legend begins, ironically, on a beach. More precisely, San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood, at an altitude of only 150 feet above sea level. It was here in 1966 that two hiking enthusiasts resolved to follow their passions and founded a small mountaineering retail store.

VISUAL IDENTITY / TYPE & COLOR

# EF3224 # 2A2A2A # 353535 # 9A9A9A # CCCCC # FFFFF

The color palette used by The North Face is quite simple and uncluttered, they used 5 shades of grays along with a striking red. These color evoke the shades of a mountain side facing north and therefore snowbound.

The font used by The North Face is without a surprise Helvetica, the website contains variations of boldness. For the logo the brand had a slight variation of Helvetica Bold made specifically. Helvetica is a very neutral typeface designed to have great clarity and no intrin-sic meaning in its form so it could be used on a wide variety of signage.

VISUAL IDENTITY / PRODUCTS

The North Face sell gear and specialized equipment for several outdoor activities, they also have a line of casual clothes. The company takes pride in being the leader in gear technology, they invest a lot is research and development. The North Face also took a sustainability pledge, they want to protect the planet they love to explore.

VISUAL IDENTITY / WEB

The font used for the official website of The North Face is Helvetica, it is clean and uncluttered. The website serves mainly as a flagship store, displaying the entire North Face catalogue.

VISUAL IDENTITY / WEB

The font used for The North Face’s blog “Never stop exploring” is Helvetica as well, it is clean and uncluttered. The Blog catalogs outdoor activities and expedition advices, along with testimonials of athletes. In here you’ll find everything you need to know about your next hiking trip.

VISUAL IDENTITY / PRINT

The classic print ad for The North Face was simply showing the mother nature in her most extreme setting and induce that their gear would help you to conquer her. Most often mother nature was depict quite surprisingly as the north face of a mountain.

VISUAL IDENTITY / PRINT

Since The North Face takes pride in being the leader in cutting edge out-door gear, it is only logic that they would to show their products. This type of print advertising has been really popular with the brand for a few years.

VISUAL IDENTITY / PRINT

The brand has tried to reinvent herself for a while, because visuals of extreme out-door were used more and more by competition. These types of ads stand out of the usual North Face ads.

VISUAL IDENTITY / PRINT

After several successful years with the ‘Never Stop Exploring’ positioning The North Face wanted to refresh the look of the brand. The competing brands were now all using big extreme expedition photog-raphy that The North Face was known for. So they needed to break from the clutter but not relinquish the brand’s position as the expedition leader. That’s why they turned their focus on the amazing and well respected The North Face athlete team. Usually they were seen as a dot in the huge landscape shot. The solution was then to zoom in on the people and show the intensity, determination, and passion that drives them to explore. They became the faces of extreme adventure.

VISUAL IDENTITY / AMBIENT

Since North Face products are being sold in big retail stores that have no advertising space because of housing thousands of competitive products. In this case showing customers that unless you buy North Face gear, you’ll have to depend on rocks and leaves to survive outdoor.

VISUAL IDENTITY / APP

With this first App, The North Face released his first mobile store. The App works as the website, so you can access the whole catalogue of products. The App stays is the same visual line as the website.

VISUAL IDENTITY / APP

The North Face TracKING is a performance mobile tracking app that lets you track your run and hikes and create a library of your own unique routes to share with your Facebook friends.

VISUAL IDENTITY / APP

The North Face Snow Report has everything you need for your next trip to the mountains. Track your day. Post a photo to Facebook. Get snow conditions, weather forecasts, full trail maps and other details for just about any resort you can imagine.

VISUAL IDENTITY / VIDEOS

The North Face wants you to never stop exploring, in that optic they came up with a channel where snow passionate can upload videos of their stunt and personal victories over mother nature.

VISUAL IDENTITY / EVENT

The North Face has hosted and organized countless events for the promotion of the great outdoor. The general themes of those events are challenge, no boundaries and freedom, the aim is always for you to push your limits.

BRAND IDENTITY / MISSION STATEMENT

NEVER STOP

EXPLORING!

The North Face is a pioneer brand, which embodies an individualist, blazing it’s own trail in pursuit of freedom, adventure and new experiences that feed his soul. Exploration, freedom, adventure, independence, exper-imentation, self-reliance, challenge, bravery and confidence are a few adjectives that rep-resent the brand.

BRAND IDENTITY / BRAND AUDIT

Most of the people associate the brand with quality, outdoor gear and durability. This means that The North Face outdoor clothing line is well positioned in the market mainly because of its quality. But it’s important to mention that 7% of the people also think the brand is expensive.

Reasons why people purchase North Face products and not other brands?

Quality 41%Style 23%Versatility 20%

BRAND IDENTITY / SEGMENTATION

The SuperdadFather who provide gear for his family in preparation for a vacation trip. He knows that The North Face is deemed for it’s quality and he only wants what’s best the family. He likes the outdoor but he’s not an nature freak. He watches discovery channel and when the times come to invest in good equipment he’s loyal to the brand but is also definitely influenced by salesman. For him never stop exploring means being curious.

QUALITY & TRUST

BRAND IDENTITY / SEGMENTATION

The PioneerThe pioneer is the ultimate outdoor fan, the one that you see in classic North Face ads, it’s a small niche of customers who have high technical skills and who require cutting edge material to accomplish their challenge. They are the reason North Face even exists. They are not impressed by trends, they need high end technology. For him never stop exploring is a state of being.

TECHNOLOGY & CHALLENGE

BRAND IDENTITY / SEGMENTATION

The WilderchicThe wilderchic likes the idea of his adventurous alter-ego, and by wearing The North Face clothes he convinces himself and others that he’s a real man. Affirming his manhood doesn’t mean he can’t do it in style and North Face gives him the opportunity to say “I’m a real man” with a certain wild elegance. Seeing the brand been endorsed by celebrities and by his entourage has had influence on him. For him never stop exploring is a philosophy of life.

BRAND IMAGE

BRAND IDENTITY / RATIONAL FEATURES

- Innovative (needs to stay the leader to justify higher prices)- Products for every level- Life-time guarantee- Reliable - Sustainability (need to make it more visible)

BRAND IDENTITY / EMOTIONAL BENEFITS

- The North Face products are trusted and have a professional reputation.- When hip-hop stars sported North Face jackets in their videos, the brand took on an iconic quality.- Adventurous (Never Stop exploring).

INTERPRETATION / ANALYSIS

Today, The North Face has acquired a excellent reputation among professional skiers and other extreme outdoor activity. This niche of experts are loyal to the brand and will continue to be as long as The North Face stays innovative and cutting edge. The dads will continue their shopping based on experts opinion, trusting their good judgment. But Today has also brought a new opportunity for the brand to exploit its fashion asset. They should therefor enlarge their range of casual clothes and pay extra attention to the style. I don’t think North Face’s communication should change a bit, we still want to keep this pioneer aspiration to the brand, Merely show the clothes in context of wilderness should suffice.

INTERPRETATION / RECOMMENDED COMMUNICATION